The boy who died
by RiverPhoenix
Summary: Harry Potter was The Boy Who Lived, and so, naturally, he becomes The Boy Who Died. RR
1. Death itself

Just a fic about Harry's death. Flames accepted, I guess.

Disclaimer: All characters are the property of JK Rowling.

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Harry ran through the forest towards the castle which would ultimately take him to Dumbledore's office.

He had just met Voldemort again, not for the first time, but this time he had well and truly vanquished him. Certainly, when Harry had performed Avada Kedavra, Voldemort had screamed and collapsed to the ground, and a bright green halo of light had been emitted from his mouth.

Harry wasn't sure what that had been. It couldn't have been his soul, as Voldemort had drunk the blood of a unicorn, but maybe it was an evil spirit.

Harry was still reeling from the shock, but he wanted to let Dumbledore know as soon as possible, in case there was something which could bring Voldemort back to life, so they could combat it. The green light was troubling him especially.

Harry was still wondering, and not concentrating on the ground, when he tripped over a stone and fell. His head hit the ground with a large crack and he lay there, unconscious.

*****

Hermione and Ron stood at Harry's bed, waiting impatiently for Dumbledore to finish conferring with Madame Pomfrey, so he could come out and tell them how Harry was faring.

They waited for what seemed a lifetime, but finally, Madame Pomfrey and Dumbledore walked out from Madame Pomfrey's office. The look on Dumbledore's face was grave.

"What's wrong with him?" "Is he going to be okay?" Ron and Hermione asked anxiously.

Dumbledore looked at them for a long time, and then sighed wearily.

"Okay, you're old enough to know the truth."

Hermione gasped, and Dumbledore glanced at her sharply.

"I'm sure you've guessed Ms Granger. Harry is in a coma, that's why he hasn't woken up for the past two days, and it is very unlikely that he will ever wake up again."

Ron sat down hard on Harry's bed, numb with shock.

Harry was gone? His best friend Harry. Harry, who had defeated Lord Voldemort when he was a baby, was dead?

"Do you know exactly what happened? He couldn't have just...tripped," Hermione asked, her voice breaking.

Dumbledore shook his head. "We'll never know what happened, but we can conclude that he did fall over."

Hermione groaned, sat down next to Ron and started to cry.


	2. The funeral

****

3 days later, the funeral.

It was a bright sunny day, not one Ron would have thought was appropriate for his best friends' funeral.

He was standing in the wizards cemetery where Harry's body would be laid to rest, and he stood, watching as Harry's coffin was lowered into the ground.

Next to him, Hermione was sobbing.

Ron moved forward to throw a handful of dirt on his friend's grave.

He watched as the dirt fell and spattered on the rich mahogany coffin.

It seemed so ironic that Harry had escaped Voldemort so many times, and then even defeated him, only to have his life taken away by tripping over a stone.

A stupid piece of salt.

Sighing, he turned watched as people threw clods of dirt into the grave, until the hole was filled. For him it would never be just a hole. It would the place where his best friends' body lay, now in peace.

He glanced across the black tide of mourners and his eyes lingered on Remus Lupin.

Lupin had been through the same thing 22 years earlier, and now he was experiencing it again, only this time, it was that same friends' son.

It was tragic was that all members of this family had died so early, when they had years of life spread before them. 

This was the end of their line and this great family would be forgotten.

The name Potter would not mean anything to the generations of people to come.

Of course, people would know that Harry had defeated and then finally killed Lord Voldemort, but after a while, people wouldn't care anymore.

The threat from Lord Voldemort would be over, and because Harry wasn't alive, people would forget.

'Forget, forget'. These words spun around continually in Ron's head.

When everyone had stepped back from Harry's grave, Ron moved forward to help place a gravestone onto Harry's grave.

It was a simple stone, not too fancy or attention-seeking, yet elegant.

'It was much like Harry himself. Except for the elegant part, maybe', Ron thought, smiling ruefully.

It was fashioned from dark grey marble, and the epitaph read:

__

Harry Potter

24.4.04

Here lies the boy who lived.

The friend of all,

Enemy only to those who wished to destroy.

RIP

It was not an epitaph Ron had found fitting for his friend, but the Ministry had exerted its authority and Ron had been powerless to do anything.

It didn't matter that much, he would erect a memorial for Harry in the grounds of Hogwarts. Harry had loved being at that school, and it seemed appropriate to have a memorial there for him. 

People had begun to leave, and Ron looked at them bitterly.

They did not understand what it was the world had lost. They only knew him as the boy who had defeated Lord Voldemort. They did not understand the essence, who Harry really was.

The large crowd had dispersed surprisingly quickly, considering the number of people who were amassed there. Many had followed the journalists, just to be part of the hype.

The rest, who knew Harry, had offered some words of regret to Ron and Hermione before leaving, but Ron doubted they really understood who Harry really been.

Sighing in grief, he looked across at Hermione, who still had tears running down her face and put an arm around her shoulder.

She placed her head on his shoulder and began to sob quietly, shaking in his arms.

He held her closer and waited for her sobbing to subside.

Finally, they broke apart, and she wiped her eyes.

"At least he's at peace now." Ron said, trying to put a better light on it.

Hermione only smiled ruefully at him.

Remus Lupin tapped Ron on the shoulder and asked him if he could have a few words.

Ron nodded and followed Lupin into a copse of trees, a few metres away from the gravesite.

Remus sighed heavily before he began to speak.

"Obviously, I wont understand what effect Harry's death has had on you -"

Ron began to interrupt, but Remus lifted his hand, indicating the need for his silence.

"Everyone's grief is different, so my experience will be different to yours, but I just want to tell you that the pain _will _stop one day. You'll never stop missing him, but one day, you'll wake up and you wont feel that pain anymore."

He patted Ron's shoulder lightly, and then moved off.

Ron watched after him, miserable. As hard as he might try, he couldn't believe that he would ever stop feeling the pain of Harry's death.

When Ron's brother, Charlie had been killed, Ron had gone through a lot of grief, but he had had Harry there to help him through it.

Now he was trying to cope with Harry's death, and he didn't think he could do it.

"Why?" he muttered bleakly, standing alone, staring at the swaying trees.

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Sorry to all those Charlie Weasley-lovers out there, I had to have him killed.

And yes, there will be more character torture in the next chapter ^.^


End file.
